The man standing before him, eyes cold and piercing as a sword forged in heaven, was none other than Wen Tianlie, the Emperor of Great Liang, and Qin Wei's own maternal uncle.
He straightened reflexively, the weight of memory crashing into his shoulders like a boulder. "Uncle, why are you here in person?" Qin Wei asked, trying to sound casual as the original Qin Wei would act, his lips twitching at the corners.
Wen Tianlie's expression didn't change. His eyes narrowed, and his voice turned sharp as he said. "Brat, you are just as rebellious as your mother. How dare you run off on the day of your wedding?"
Qin Wei took a deep breath, hiding his tension behind a half-smile. "Uncle… I don't want this wedding."
That earned him a glare from his uncle.
"Scoundrel," Wen Tianlie snapped, "this discussion ended at the palace. Do you think my decrees are jokes to be taken lightly? Are you planning to defy the Son of Heaven's will?"
"What son of Heaven's will? You are just a guy who rules a mere few million square Km. You know how big this planet is? You know how big this star system is? You know how big the universe is? Hmpf…" Qin Wei's lips parted with various words in his throat, but none came out. His gaze drifted instinctively toward the floating screen.
7 minutes left on the emergency mission timer. "Ugh… I can't waste time arguing with this unreasonable uncle of mine."
"Character interface," he mumbled.
The display flickered, scrolling down under his mental command.
Skill: Ripple Drift
Status: Cooldown – 45 minutes remaining
"Tch… useless skill," he muttered under his breath.
Wen Tianlie raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing…"
Qin Wei's mind spun. Forget about fighting the Emperor, who was one of the four semi-deities of Great Liang; he knows that there is no way to run…
He quickly darted his eyes left and right, thinking about various methods. IN the end, only one came to his head.
Qin Wei's expression suddenly sharpened. He drew in a deep breath and opened his eyes widely, activating his Xielun Yan once again with a glowing crimson ripple, one gouyu spinning slowly in its center.
Wen Tianlie's gaze twitched. "Hmm?"
Qin Wei seized the moment.
"Uncle," he said, voice steady now. "Look at this. I'm no longer trash. I can become stronger too."
The air went still.
Wen Tianlie narrowed his eyes as Qin Wei's crimson iris glinted under the sun. "An ocular ability? That's one of the rarest abilities in the world."
The Emperor's voice then dropped slightly. "Since when?"
Qin Wei wiped a bead of sweat from his temple, calming his racing breath. "After I nearly died. The night I arrived at the Li Clan, I was unconscious for days… it must've awakened then."
Wen Tianlie studied him for a long time—scrutinizing, searching, calculating.
But Qin Wei pressed forward.
"Uncle, please… cancel this wedding. I want to attend the Imperial Academy. I want to cultivate properly. I want to become strong. I may even become a Grandmaster one day… Just give me time. I promise that not only will I study diligently, but I will also abandon all those bad qualities you berate me for,"
For a moment, the forest hushed as if the world waited for the Son of Heaven's verdict.
But then a short, sharp laugh escaped the Emperor's lips, laced with both derision and amusement. "Brat… still too green."
"You surprised me, yes. If it were any other time, perhaps I'd reward you with gold and silk robes, a golden plaque, and use words to convince you. But alas, you awakened too late, my nephew."
Qin Wei clenched his fists at that.
Wen Tianlie's gaze cooled. "Today is your wedding. Not tomorrow. You can train, you can dream, you can fight, and you can also enter the academy, but you can't escape this."
Qin Wei's heart pounded against his ribs.
He glanced at the floating screen, just only 3 minutes left on the mission timer.
"Fine," he muttered, looking defeated. "Then I'll go back. Let me at least descend this mountain and collect my thoughts. I won't run—I just… need a moment."
For the first time, Wen Tianlie's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Brat," he said, "why do you think I came here, not to the Li estate, not to the wedding altar, but here on Mt. Wudang? It is to stop you from reaching that place."
Qin Wei froze. "What do you mean?"
Wen Tianlie stepped closer, lifting a hand. As he waved his fingers slowly in the air, a shimmering red thread began to appear, barely visible against the wind. A thread that extended from Qin Wei's chest… eastward, toward the horizon.
The Red Thread of Fate.
The Emperor said. "Your escape… your path down the mountain. It was written in the stars. You were fated to try."
"But had you descended," he continued, "just two more li, you'd have crossed the threshold of destiny. The red thread connecting you and Li Xue… would have snapped."
Qin Wei's jaw clenched. "So you stopped me to preserve it?"
Wen Tianlie gave a short nod. "Exactly. Beyond this point, your marriage fate dissolves. Maybe someone is waiting for you at the base. Maybe a formation, maybe a cultivator, maybe a loophole in Heaven's rules. I don't know what it was, but once you crossed it, your fate will also be severe with Great Liang. And I will never let it happen. So, be a good boy and return to the Li Clan with me. I will tell them that you didn't escape but were abducted by someone and I came to your rescue."
"No, I won't!" Qin Wei roared as the timer ticked its final seconds. The wood element, the Samsara Eye, the dream of becoming a god-like being, everything is being shattered in front of his eyes, not by an enemy, but by his own damn uncle.
In a last act of desperation, he lunged forward and hurled a punch at the nearest sword of light barring his path.
A sharp ring echoed as his fist collided with spiritual steel. The rebound sent a shiver down his bones, but before he could attempt again, Wen Tianlie raised a single hand.
A sudden, invisible force struck his chest. Qin Wei's vision blurred, and his knees buckled.
"You…!"
His voice barely escaped his throat before the world shattered into black.
When he awoke, he wasn't in the forest.
He wasn't even lying down.
He was seated upright, stiff, facing a wide bronze mirror engraved with dragons and phoenixes, glowing faintly with formation lines. His hands were limp on his lap.
He was already dressed in half of the groom's robes, the crimson layers wrapped tightly, golden patterns embroidered in the shapes of qilins and lotus blossoms.
Two service maids were gently fixing his inner sleeves and collar. Another stood behind him, adjusting the crown that sat on his head.
For a moment, he screamed, a startled, confused sound as reality rushed back in.
One of the maids dropped a pin in surprise.
But then…
Ping.
A soft chime echoed in his vision.
A translucent blue panel unfolded before his eyes.
Mission Failed.
Emergency Quest [Escape the Wedding] has expired.
Penalty: None.
Rewards: Forfeited.
Status: Locked.
The screen flickered once, then faded into nothingness.
The emergency quest had disappeared. Like it never existed.
Qin Wei didn't even speak.
He simply… froze.
His limbs slackened, like the strings had been cut from a puppet. His spine slumped as the final glimmer of resistance faded from his eyes.
Gone.
It's gone.
He sat there, lifeless like a ghost in fine robes.
"This damn uncle of mine…"
The thought was bitter, dry, and shallow like a cracked whisper.
"He didn't just ruin my wedding. He ruined my future. Figuratively… and literally."
Qin Wei's head slowly drooped.
The maids noticed the shift in him. One of them paused, gently asking,
"Young Master, are you feeling unwell?"
He didn't respond.
His eyes stared blankly at the mirror in front of him.
At the reflection of a beautifully dressed corpse, shackled in red silk and tradition.
The silence lingered.
Outside, bells began to ring softly—wedding bells, echoing across the estate.
The ceremony was beginning.
And Qin Wei, against his will, had become the groom once again.